On the degradation phenomena in high polymer aqueous solutions

Developing practical applications in regard to the Toms effect is important for industrial purposes. Studies of the degradation in a polymer aqueous solution will be a great help in attacking problems such as practical techniques. Polyethylene oxide is used as the polymer additive and the degradation of water solution in a shear layer is discussed. Polymer aqueous solutions are placed in the small clearance of two parallel disk plates, and the upper disk allowed to move rotatively or in oscillation. In order to study the mechanism of the degradation of the polymer, freeze-dried solution samples were observed by electron micrography.